“Kasper had a very good winter of training, but at Paris-Nice he started feeling tired. His recovery markers that we monitor on a daily basis also reflected this," says EF Pro Cycling Head Doctor Jon Greenwell. "We monitor the resting heart rate, HRV and recovery score using Whoop each morning, and we saw that Kasper´s numbers were moving away from his normal range. Concerned about this, and the feedback we were getting from Kasper, the team decided to withdraw him from Paris-Nice, so we could investigate further and try to find a cause, and also make sure that we did not risk any longer term heart problems. The extensive investigations that were performed all came back as normal, and the conclusion was that Kasper had been exposed to a virus at some stage earlier in the year that had caused the fatigue.”

Kasper is disappointed to miss his favorite races of the season. He'll be cheering on his teammates this spring. Watching them race over the Belgian cobbles after completing his own training sessions will inspire him to come back stronger than ever. Kasper is thankful that he can build his form without rushing into races before he is ready.

“It’s going to hurt to miss the races I love the most, but I'm very, very grateful that I'm in a team where they see my best value as being the best version of myself,” Kasper says. “All winter, I've been on track towards a great classics campaign. Together with my team, we've built an incredible group of riders to tackle the best races of the season, and feeling their support and belief in me has been incredible. A couple of weeks back, I got an infection and after some rest, I thought we were back on track without losing too much. However in Paris-Nice, it started to worsen again and I had to take more rest. These breaks have come at the worst possible time, ruining all that hard work that everyone has done throughout the winter. Although I would be healthy enough to do the races, the shape is no longer what it has to be to be competitive. Therefore the team and I have decided that I should start refocusing on being the best possible version of myself and only then return to racing.”

Doctor Greenwell is optimistic that Kasper will be back in the peloton soon. Kasper is back training on the bike, but our medical staff still want to make sure that he takes a cautious approach to his recovery.

“After a period of rest we started some low intensity training earlier this week,” says Doctor Greenwell. “We will continue to monitor his progress closely and we want to make sure he is 100 percent recovered and fully healthy again before he returns to racing.”

We look forward to seeing you back on the roads, champ.